THE CHURCH AT NORMANTON-ON-SOAR.

BY THE REV. A. M. Y. BAYLAY.

NORMANTON-ON-SOAR.
Photograph by E. L. Guilford.

No part of this church shews any trace of architecture older than what
is called the Early English style, and it is not improbable that whatever
church existed here previously was of timber. The fact that in Domesday
Book no church is mentioned here does not prove anything, as the enumeration
of churches in the Domesday Survey was far from complete.

The oldest part of the existing church is the tower, erected about the
beginning of the 13th century, and the fact of the builders beginning
with a central tower seems to indicate that their church did not occupy
precisely the same site as that previously existing. The work of building
the church seems to have gone steadily on, with no great intervals between
the various parts. The north side is, I think, by a different hand from
the south, and perhaps a little earlier: the west window somewhat later,
and the east window later still, but all within the first half of the
13th century,—as is also the spire, which is later than the tower, and
probably not intended by the original builder. Its weight has somewhat
crushed the tower, and created a need for additional buttressing on its
west side, especially at the north-west corner, where a very large buttress
has been built, and afterwards partly removed.

The only piece of 14th century work is the large "low-side "window
in the south wall of the chancel;—in this case undoubtedly a reading
window, to give additional light to the rector's stall. The lower compartments
would not contain any stained glass, and perhaps were not originally
intended to be glazed at all, but closed with shutters.

STONE ALTAR, NORMANTON-ON-SOAR.
Photograph by E. L. Guilford.

In the 15th century the important step was taken of raising the walls
of the nave, and introducing an open roof of lower pitch than before.
The course followed was, I believe, unique. The walls were raised with
a storey of timber work, to which the pendent posts of the new roof were
attached. Probably this timber construction was thinner than the stone
walls below, and had a set-off outside, covered with lead to keep the
rain out of the tops of the walls. A trace of this can be seen on the
south wall, towards its eastern end. In the 18th, or late in the 17th
century, the outer sides of the timber storey have been faced with brick
work (apparently not all of one date) flush with the stone walls below;
and four small windows with wooden frames constructed. It is doubtful
if the timber storey had originally any windows.

Let me pause here to express my fervent hope that nothing to be done
here under the name of "restoration," will in any degree interfere
with the preservation of this most interesting feature,—unparalleled,
so far as I know, in any church in the kingdom. Repair no doubt is needed,
but repair neither need, nor should, mean the destruction of any portion
of the existing work, whether of the 15th or the 18th century. The timber
roof is of excellent design:—indeed, one of the best points about the
church.

To the 15th century belong also three other things noticeable in the
church:—(1) the font, of somewhat unusual design:—(2) the large Perpendicular
window in the south wall of the nave, doubtless designed to throw light
on the "Jesus" altar which would stand in that corner:—(3)
the lowering of the pitch of the chancel roof, and the addition of stone
parapets and gargoyles to its walls.

And here let me remark that, of all the foolish things commonly done
by the "restorer," one of the most foolish is the replacing
of these low pitched mediaeval roofs by what he calls the "original
high pitch." He not only destroys the interest of the building and
obliterates its history, but almost invariably produces a most unpleasing
effect,— of which, I think, we have an example no further off than Long
Whatton. The 15th century men knew what they were doing, and their lower
pitched roofs give an outline to the building full of repose and dignity.
This is conspicuously true of this church of Normanton-on-Soar, and any
unprejudiced person who looks carefully at its exterior will be convinced
how greatly it would be spoilt by the intrusion of modern high pitched
roofs to the nave and chancel.

The 15th century doubtless saw also the erection of a rood-loft, which
probably occupied the whole space of the tower, having screens both on
its eastern and western sides. Over the latter would be placed the rood.
The partial removal of the large buttress on the north side may have
been connected with the setting up of this loft. For the plan of the
church made in 1889, just before its restoration by Mr. Weatherley, shews
a trace of a winding stair adjoining the north-west buttress of the tower,
the entrance to which must have been from the destroyed north transept.
This would probably form the approach to the west side of the rood-loft.
The site of this old stair is occupied by the modern winding stair which
now gives access to the belfry.

The south porch is an addition or re-construction of the 17th or 18th
century. The later history of the church is sad enough. The north transept
was allowed to fall down, and the arch leading into it walled up. The
south transept was walled off and secularized:—being used at one time
as a joiner's shop, and, later, for a school. The western arch of the
tower was also walled up, with the exception of a small doorway in the
middle, over which were the splendidly executed royal arms in plaster
work, dated 1683,—now placed on the north wall of the nave.

In 1889 the church was restored from designs by Mr. Weatherley. The
north transept was re-erected, and the tower arches opened out. At the
same time, the altar was placed halfway along the chancel, on an inappropriate
flight of stone steps. Much very necessary repair was at the same time
carried out, which, in fact, saved the church from becoming a ruin :
and the only things connected with this restoration which the antiquary
can regret are the arrangement of the altar already alluded to, and the
removal of the good old benching of the nave,—some remains of which can
be seen in the transepts and behind the altar. From the architect's drawings
it appears he intended to introduce a new clerestory of his own designing,
but happily this was not carried out.

In 1897 the four bells, two of which, were cracked, were re-cast.

To come now to the particular parts of the church. In the nave, notice
the remarkable south door. The jambs are of the Early English style,
and have had two shafts in each: but the arch has been re-constructed
later, and does not fit on properly to the jambs. When and why this was
done it is hard to imagine: I think it not improbable that the original
arch was semi-circular, as in the case of the north doors of both nave
and chancel. The semi-circular form in these doorways, and in one small
window in the north side of the nave, does not indicate a Norman date:
it was a form frequently retained in the Early English style. The little
window in question has the dog-tooth ornament under the hood.

In the tower, the western belfry window is plainer in style than the
others, and higher up: it has probably been re-constructed and raised,
so as to give room for the high pitched roof originally put on the nave,
which seems to have been erected some few years later than the tower.
The arches supporting the tower are fine specimens of their style.

On one jamb of the eastern arch the nail-head ornament appears. In the
south-east corner of the south transept are three small recesses in the
wall, which Mr. Godfrey considers to have been the piscina, credence,
and aumbry belonging to the altar which no doubt once stood here.

The chancel is of great interest, and of unusual size for its date,
reminding us in this respect of that at Shelford. There must have been
a reason for giving it so long an extent, at a date when choirs in parish
churches were, as a rule, composed of but few persons. Perhaps there
were some occasions in the year when a party of monks from Durham were
present and took part in the service, since the Prior and Convent were
patrons of the benefice, and drew certain revenues from the place.

On the outside of the chancel, notice the quaint fancy of the masons,
in introducing the dog-tooth ornament under the hood of one lancet window
only on the south side. The low buttress under the east window has been
made unusually broad, not without a reason, as we shall presently see.
On the north side, walled up, is a finely moulded priest's door, with
semi-circular head,—a form much affected by the builders of this church.
A corresponding door on the south has been destroyed in making the 14th
century low-side window. In modern times a square-headed south doorway
has been made, further to the east. I cannot say why there should have
been two doors to the chancel, where there was no division of the tithe:—unless
it be that the Prior and Convent of Durham claimed the right to separate
access. Inside the chancel, the chief feature of interest is an ancient
altar slab, now resting on two rough stone supports; but originally,
no doubt, on one solid mass of masonry. The consecration crosses can
be distinguished. There is no loculus for relics; and this altar has
either been consecrated without relics,—as was very commonly the case
in England— or they have been enclosed in the substructure. From its
small size, this has certainly not been the high altar, but has stood
in one of the chapels. A recess in the north wall has, I think, been
the Easter sepulchre. Behind the altar are a couple of large aumbries
in the east wall, space for them being ingeniously provided by the wide
buttress above mentioned. To the south is a piscina, but the projecting
part of the bowl has been cut away. The east window is a good specimen
of early tracery, shewing an advance on the simple grouped lancets of
the west front. But the somewhat awkward handling of the openings speaks
of an art still in its infancy.

The fullest possible information about the various gravestones and tablets
contained in the church will be found in Mr. Godfrey's "Churches
of the Hundred of Rushcliffe," to whose painstaking labours I owe
a great deal. In his pages, we see the church previous to restoration,
almost as clearly as if it was before our eyes.

There seems some doubt about the dedication of this church : Mr. Godfrey
assigns it to St. Mary, on the authority of ancient wills preserved at
York. But the dedication currently accepted is to St. James-the-greater,—and
the rector tells me that St. Stephen has also been mentioned as the patron
saint.

St Helen's church,
West Leake (photo by A Nicholson, 2006).

Leaving the church, the party went on to luncheon at the Plough Inn,
and soon after 1 p.m. a start was made for West Leake, where the church
of St. Helena was visited. No paper was read here; but the church is
interesting on account of its Early Decorated work, and its extremely
long nave, measuring only about 15in. less than 20yds. in length, is
remarkable. The church consists of a chancel supported by diagonal buttresses;
a nave of five bays with octagonal pillars; a north transept of great
width compared with its length, and opening into the nave by a pointed
arch which is doubly chamfered; a south aisle which has been rebuilt,
and the east end of which contains a stained glass window to the memory
of the Rev. John Bateman, who was rector of East and West Leake for forty-six
years, and died in 1882. The west wall of the nave, which has also been
rebuilt, contains a pointed window of three lights, and is surmounted
by a modern bell turret which has two 16th century bells founded by Thomas
Hedderley. There are three monumental effigies of some interest; one,
within an Early English canopy, of a lady, probably a member of the Leake
family, which lies in the north transept under an archway in the north
wall; a second under a recess in the north wall of the chancel, and of
Early English character and date; a third in a recess in the south wall
of the south aisle, also of considerable antiquity. There is a goodly
number of monuments in the church, the chief being those of Richard Mansfield
1624, Thomas Mansfield 1706, Thomas Mansfield 1741/2, Robert Hemington
1772, Rev. Edward Ellis 1795, Rev. Edward Bigland 1650.1